My Queer Problem
by Dr.E. Vance
Summary: CHAPTER 10 is up. J.D. thought he could handle anything. That is, until he finds out a male nurse has a crush on him . . . what's a straight man to do? slash. . .
1. Chapter 1

**My Queer Problem**

**UPDATE: My problem with this story, you see, is that I got a spark of inspiration and then after Chapter 2, the flame went out. Then, about a month or so later, the spark was relit. . . only to be put out yet again after about three or so more chapters. You'll have to be patient with meon this one, trust me. I PROMISE I will finish this after I have done more of the seven or so other stories I'm over whelming myself with. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OF SCRUBS OR THE SHOW IN ENTIRTY. I ONLY OWN NURSE MICHAEL WILLIAMS. **

**A/N: If your reading this, thanks for reading my second Scrubs fic! Since my first one, "My Unhappy Birthday", did pretty well, I thought I'd try another one. Reviews are happily welcome!**

_JD's thoughts are in italics, like this. . . _

1

_Male nurses, or as some call them "murses" don't get as much respect as the female ones around here. Obvious why, I mean, everyone always sees the nursing profession strictly for women._

J.D. took his time strolling down the hallways like he had nowhere to go, which was a total lie. Elliot rushed a brief hello to him as she ran down the hall for some reason or another.

_They said the opposite about doctors and now there's Elliot. Oh, Elliot . . ._

He was so lost in thought that he tripped over the "Watch Your Step" sign on the puddle of water the Janitor was just about to mop up. The Janitor broke out laughing as J.D. picked himself up nervously and began to walk away.

"Hey! Can't even say good morning to me or sorry that your ass spread the water and made it harder for me to clean up! Fine, Scooter. Be that way . . ."

J.D. ignored the Janitor and tried to pretend his whole backside wasn't soaked with water – at least he hoped it was water. He trotted into his new patients room and a nurse, a male one, was already there.

The patient was a middle aged female and she looked positively green.

"What is it?" J.D. didn't mean to sound harsh, but it came out that way and he noticed that the tone startled the nurse a little.

"Um, she said that her sister made her come. She has a high fever and threw up." The nurse was tall, with a nice face, longish black hair and slightly deep voice. The nurse leaned over into J.D.'s ear. "You do know your ass is wet, right?"

J.D. pretended to be startled knowing that it was impossible to NOT notice that one's ass was wet.

"No, is it? I wondered why my underwear felt funny!" J.D. said sarcastically. The nurse apparently thought he was serious.

"Not that I was looking at it or anything, I just . . ." there was a slight pause of uncomfortable silence. "I should go." And he left, leaving J.D. to tend to the patient.

_I DO have a nice ass. Little disconcerting it was a guy who was looking at it. Maybe not a little._

J.D.'s patient threw up on him.

An hour later, J.D. had changed and took a break by stopping at the nurses station with Turk to see Carla.

"Hey, baby. Hi Bambi." Carla greeted them with smiles. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just stopping by to say hello." Turk smiled back.

"Can I ask you something?" J.D. was a little embarrassed to ask, but the curiosity was killing him.

"Sure, something wrong?"

J.D. leaned in because he saw the nurse from before walk nearby behind the desk.

"What's his name?" J.D. tried to discreetly point, but neither of them understood.

"Who?" Turk said a little too loud. J.D. shushed him.

_You never notice how loud someone's voice is until you want them to be quiet. _

"That male nurse, behind you." J.D. whispered again. Carla glanced behind her and waved at the nurse. Turk nodded at him and J.D. tried to hide his face.

"His names Michael Williams. Why?"

"Oh, um . . ." J.D. was having a hard time saying this. "I think I caught him staring at my butt." He said quickly.

"Wouldn't be surprised." Carla pulled away from J.D. and ignored the confused look on Turk's face.

_Is she complementing my ass?_

"Are you saying that because I have a nice ass?" J.D. asked hopefully. Turk sniggered.

"No, Michael's gay." Carla said matter of factly.

"Oh okay because I thought . . . what!" J.D. eyed Michael and groaned.

_Not again . . . _

**what do you think so far? I'll update as fast as I can, promise.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't care much for the new "hit count". I mean, I find out one of my stories had 13 hits, but I have a big whopping ZILCH in the review department for it! It's okay though, you get to see how popular the story is. . . **

2

_This only happened once before in college. I stopped the problem by avoiding it, but now I'm older and take care of this in person._

J.D. saw Michael walking his way and ducked behind the nearest tall person, realizing too late it was Dr. Cox. J.D. watched Michael walk past and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't see him.

But now he had a different problem.

"Jodie, please don't tell me you were hiding from that nurse behind me."

"Okay, I won't." J.D. spoke up and faced Dr. Cox.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah . . . nothing. Well, he was . . ."

"Listen, I don't care much for your girl problems. I actually have work to do. You do know what that is, right? That is why you showed up today? I mean, otherwise, you can go home." Dr. Cox gestured down the hall to the 'Exit' sign.

J.D. could never tell if he was serious or not and sometimes when he was, J.D. made a fool of himself and when he wasn't, J.D. usually ended up making a fool of himself anyway.

"Really?" J.D. hoped that was his best response. Dr. Cox stared at J.D. like he just grew breasts, though he wouldn't be surprised. Without saying anything, Dr. Cox shook his head and stomped away. "Is that a yes?"

11010101010100001010101101020101010110110110110000010101

_another thing I noticed is that the more you DON'T want to see a person, the more they show up everywhere._

J.D. seemed to be running into Michael everywhere and though Michael didn't seem to mind, J.D. did. Finally able to get a break to eat, J.D. took his time making his way slowly down to the cafeteria.

When he got there, he saw how empty it was and wondered where everyone was. He got in line and when he had chosen a small, but filling, meal he searched for a table that was occupied. J.D. hated sitting alone, because he always needed to someone to talk to.

Scanning the room, there were a few tables with some people, but most of them were people he preferred not to talk to including Todd and a very old doctor who looked to be falling asleep in his soup.

The only other occupied table at the moment was holding the one person he wasn't sure he wanted to see – Michael.

_I have to grow up. Just act normal and don't bring anything stupid up, like you always do._

J.D. breathed in and made his way to the table. He cleared his voice to let Michael know of his presence.

"Oh! Is this your table?"

"No, I . . . um . . . can I sit with . . . you?" J.D. spat out and looked around to make sure no one important was watching. Michael blinked, surprised someone actually wanted to sit with him.

"Uh, sure. Have a seat."

J.D. sat down and carefully placed his tray down on the table and opened his bottle of juice. They sat in silence, Michael embarrassed to say anything and J.D. slightly uncomfortable.

_Maybe I should've sat with Todd . . . - - fantasy - - Todd slaps J.D.'s hand and it falls off because of the force - - end fantasy - - . . . maybe not. _

"So, uh . . . a lot of patients today?" Michael tried to start up a conversation and J.D., always having a funny story to tell about someone began to elaborately tell a hilarious story about a man who showed up in a jump suit and his skin was covered with purple polka dots.

When J.D. finished, he was about to tell another one when Todd and his other jock surgeon friends approached the table.

"Why're you talking to him?" one of them asked in a disgusting tone of voice.

"Yeah, you do know what he is right?" Todd asked J.D., but watched Michael.

"Some people say you'll go to hell for it, you know." Another said and the rest laughed. J.D. didn't know what to say and before he had time to think, Michael picked up his tray, threw away what was left on it and ran out.

Todd and his friends eventually walked away laughing and J.D. stayed where he was in his chair, his food getting cold and his drink getting warm.

_I know I should've said something. I know, but I didn't. - - fantasy - - J.D. sticks up for Michael and gets shoved in a closet and his scrubs are stolen - - end fantasy - - That's why – because they'll turn to me. _

J.D. sighed and finally got up and threw away his food as well and walked in a daze out of the cafeteria, bumping into Carla along the way. She turned back and stopped J.D.

"Hey, Bambi. Michael's in the lounge. He's really upset. Do you know what happened?"

"No," J.D. lied. "Why would I?"

Carla looked offended and pulled away.

"Sorry. I'll see you later." And she walked off. J.D. watched her leave and felt so angry at himself. He went to go find Elliot but decided to make a quick stop in the lounge first . . .

**I promise Elliot will be in this more! That's about it, enjoy the rest, for it is coming!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I read this over again and had a tiny spark of inspiration so. . . I'm continuing with this again after all! I hope you all enjoy the rest for however long it takes. Didn't realize the potential of it. . . **

**On a side note, I didn't know about Dr. Kelso's son or Elliot's brother because I've only seen the first season on DVD and the middle to end of the latest season. As you can see, I've missed quite a bit but plan to find a way to catch up. **

**Enough with the chattering, I've now added this to the list of the other 5 stories I have to complete. Oh, joy. I have no idea if nurses have beepers, but for the sake of the story, let's pretend they do, okay?**

3

_What am I doing? I hardly know the guy. . . and why did I lie to Carla? _

J.D. didn't understand why he didn't just leave Michael to mope in the lounge and carry on with work. Something had stung him like the year at camp when he got stung by millions of bees.

J.D. had seen people get made fun of all the time. Hey, he even did it. So why, then, did this one bother him so much?

_Last chance. . . The lounge door is right here. . . I can turn back. . . right. . . now. . . COME ON FEET TURN!_

Today, J.D.'s feet decided to have minds of their own and continued to carry him to the lounge door. His hands seemed to have their own mind as well and clutched the handle. J.D. slammed the door open rather forcefully and scanned the room. God forbid anybody would see him. . .

Michael was seated forlornly in a corner chair staring out the window. As J.D. neared the man he could see lines of tears fading down his cheeks and a pile of tissues laying on the floor.

J.D.'s mouth made an attempt to move and spout words, but instead looked like a fish breathing in a bowl of water. Michael didn't notice J.D. standing there and hiccupped.

"Um. . . ahem." J.D. spat out and saw Michael jump slightly. He uncoiled himself and spread his fingers out. He turned his head slowly and stared his blue eyes, still watery, up at J.D. . J.D. swore he felt his heart skip a beat.

"What is it you want doctor?" Michael asked painfully slow and quiet that J.D. winced.

"I. . . um. . . well. . ." J.D. had never felt so stupid.

_I can talk to women all I want. I can talk this way to Turk. Why can't I talk to him? Darn you, human emotions! _

"Yes?" Michael pressured and knew what J.D. wanted to say (or at least he hoped he did) but didn't want to answer for him.

"I. . . uh. . . sorry I didn't say anything to those guys for you." J.D. shrugged at the end to show how he was trying to be a man although his insides were a tangled mess and his brain had turned into Cream of Wheat.

"Oh. That's okay. I get to emotional sometimes. I've heard worse, believe me." Michael tried to joke. J.D. just looked up from staring at the floor, his eyes wide.

_What could be worse than being told that you'd be going to hell? _

J.D. tried to use what was left of his Cream of Wheat brain to think of worse things but came up blank. He felt wet rolling down his face. He figured it was sweat. Either that or his brain was dribbling out of his ears.

-- _fantasy – Michael is holding a bowl up to J.D.'s ear as the Cream of Wheat falls out. Michael pours maple syrup into the bowl and pulls out a spoon. "Nice brain's J.D." - - end fantasy - - _

"What could be worse than what they said?" J.D. finally asked. Michael hesitated as if he was pondering if J.D. could take it. He finally motioned for J.D. to step closer. It was J.D.'s turn to hesitate.

"Do you want to know or not?" Michael grabbed J.D.'s arm and pulled his mouth up to J.D.'s ear. J.D.'s spin fell to pieces.

_What's wrong with me? _

Michael whispered something into J.D.'s ear and it took J.D. a minute for the words to register. They finally did and he stepped back shocked as he wondered how people would be allowed to say something like that to another person.

The two of them stood there, not exactly staring at each other at the same time. Before the silence got unbearable, a raging river of doctors poured into the lounge, causing a waterfall of worlds to collide on the rocks J.D. and Michael were silently building between each other.

They're beepers went off at the same time, the two tune mixing together to form a strange reaction as both men tried to look for the source of the noise plaguing their staring contest. Through the waterfall of conversations, they realized that it was their beepers making the noises.

They both laughed friendly at each other and Michael let J.D. exit first as they swam against the current of doctors. J.D. thought about walking backwards to give the appearance of going with the flow but found this idea to be impossible and continued the way he was going.

Once outside the lounge doors, it was slightly quieter, the constant shouting of patient's and doctors more reasonable to form a conversation around.

_Say something, you idiot. Come on. . . it's not like your standing at the front door after a date and you don't know whether to kiss or not. . . _

J.D. cleared his throat nervously, having no idea Michael was thinking basically the same thing. Their beeper's mingled again, the tunes making a horrible jumble of dings and beats. J.D. was the first to look at his beeper and sighed to see it was Dr. Cox looking for him.

Michael turned to his and sighed, wondering what Dr. Cox wanted now. They both headed off in the same direction.

"Why are you following me?" J.D. heard himself blurt out. He looked cautiously up at Michael, but relaxed to see him smile.

"How do I know you're not following me?"

_I guess he isn't so bad. . ._

(---------------------------------------------------------------)

After Dr. Cox reprimanded both men for being slow and gave them their patient he left the room in a huff. Michael didn't have to stay long and finished gathering a test for J.D. who immediately had slipped into professional mode.

Completing the evaluation of the patient, a middle aged, dark haired female with a bladder infection, J.D. finally found his chance to talk to Elliot. She was signing off a chart and handing it to no one other than Carla.

"Hey, Bambi." Carla quickly greeted before wandering off to tend to a patient some doctor left sitting carelessly in the hallway. J.D. leaned on the nurse's station counter and smiled at Elliot, who smiled back.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Do you know Michael Williams?" J.D. got right to the point. Elliot put the open pen to her lips and J.D. tried to stop her, but it was too late. The ink ran into the creases of her bottom lip and stained some of it blue.

"Oh! Michael! The blonde nurse who's always staring at your ass! Yeah, I know him."

"Always?" J.D. spluttered, something he was known to do only on certain occasions. Elliot wiped the spit from her cheeks and chin before continuing.

"You're seriously telling me you never noticed he always stares at you? God, you're blind." Elliot walked off, not giving J.D. anytime to react.

_Always? How long is always? Has he always been there, watching me? –fantasy—J.D. is walking home and Michael, all dressed in black is following him with a camera. –end fantasy—_

J.D. shuddered and erased that fantasy, which really wasn't a fantasy at all, but a spark of paranoia. Michael appeared from nowhere again and startled J.D. by laying a slender hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry." Michael apologized.

"That's. . ." _don't say "okey dokey". . . don't say "okey dokey. . ." _ ". . . okey dokey!"

_Damn! _

J.D. stamped his foot. Why did he never listen to himself? Michael just laughed which provided with some, but little, comfort.

"I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to join me for a drink when you shift ends." Michael looked incredibly uncomfortable asking and J.D. was about to think of an excuse when flashes of how disappointed and lonely Michael looked when J.D. first walked into the lounge and how miserable Michael looked when he ran away after Todd and the other doctors made fun of him.

"I. . . well. . ." J.D. stumbled on the right way to say yes without sounding like it was a date. Michael took the pause the wrong way though and lowered his hand from J.D.'s shoulder. His shoulders in turn slumped down and J.D. swore he saw Michael's lip quiver as he convinced himself not to cry.

"I understand. You probably don't want to be seen with me. I understand straight men and their reputations. . ." Michael went to turn around and walk away when J.D. finally realized what happened and stopped Michael.

"Wait! I. . . um. . ." J.D. tried again.

_Speak! Come on brain, make my mouth work. Come on. . . would you do it for a Scooby Snack? _

"You really don't have to reject the offer like this." Michael stayed where he stood anyway.

"Yes, I'll go with you." J.D. pulled the string of words off his tongue and sighed that the words no longer choked his throat. Michael immediately brightened up.

"Really? Great! Let me know when your shift's through. I'll wait for you, okay?" Michael ran off, with a hint of a skip in there somewhere, to do his work.

J.D. stood by the nurse's station, letting his mouth move up and down like a fishes again.

_What have I gotten myself into now. . .? _

(-----------------------------------------------------------------------------)

**I know that chapter was kind of slow, but I'm trying to lead up to the good part which involves drunkenness and a very unannounced and sloppy kiss. O.o **


	4. Chapter 4

**Ah, here it gets a little more interesting. . . I hope I can get this chapter written and posted before the battery on my laptop needs to be recharged. . . **

4

It was nearing 10:00 pm and J.D.'s muscles were finally giving in from the torment of the day. They ached from having to dodge the temper tantrum of a five year old kid. The kid wasn't even the patient, either.

_Let's go. . . one more minute. . . one more minute. . . _

J.D. watched the clock carefully while he pretended to be looking at a chart. He squeaked with glee when the big hand on the clock landed on the twelve.

"A little anxious to leave, are we Ginger?" Dr. Cox approached J.D.

"Yeah, I guess so. Long day."

"Lucky you. I'm here for another three hours." Dr. Cox complained and when J.D. went to be apologetic, Dr. Cox silenced him. "Shhh. . . I don't need you're sympathy. Just go." He motioned J.D. off.

J.D. took his time walking down the hallway before remembering he promised to go out for a drink with Michael. He sped up suddenly, without realizing he was doing it, and was down to the first floor in no time.

Michael was sitting in one of the waiting are a chairs reading a magazine. Michael looked up and when he saw J.D., he stood so quickly, he stumbled over his own feet.

Michael blushed as J.D. laughed and the two walked to each other, meeting somewhere in the middle of the hallway and the door.

"You look really tired." Michael pointed out first. "Maybe we should reconsider." He offered politely, even though J.D. could see that wasn't what Michael wanted.

"Nah, I'm okay. Just a five year old with a temper tantrum. Always takes a lot of you. Never seems to do a thing to the kid. They must project it. . onto. . .you." J.D. found himself babbling and he slowed down as he tried to pretend it was a joke.

"Not as bad as an old man with amnesia and a farting problem." Michael shot back as the two walked out the front door.

(---------------------------------------)

The bar was slightly empty and J.D. was rather relieved to see nobody he recognized hanging about. They removed their coats and went to sit right at the bar. J.D. couldn't stop himself from yawning and was too slow to hide it from Michael.

"Sure, you're "okay"." Michael put "okay" in quotes. "I saw that yawn."

"Yeah, well. . ." J.D. tried to think of something clever but the bartender interrupted his musing.

"What can I get you two?" the man asked sincerely, but J.D. could tell he was tired from a long day. They made their orders and waited, both unsure of what to say. J.D. finally asked the first question that came to mind.

"What part of a chocolate rabbit do you eat first?" J.D. leaned his head in his hand and forced his eyes to stay open. Michael looked startled and amused by the question and waited for the drinks to arrive before realizing J.D. was serious and also to tired to notice that he took 10 minutes to answer.

"The ears. You?"

"Same. I nibble them off, real slow and then yell at it. Never hears a word I say." J.D. smiled calmly and Michael wondered what J.D. was like drunk if he acted this way when he was sleepy.

"Well, that's. . . interesting to know." Michael sipped his drink while J.D. just chugged it down. Michael shrugged and followed suit, making a face when he completed the task. J.D. yawned once more.

_Why am I still here? I'm about to fall asleep in my empty glass, so why am I still here?_

(----------------------------------------------)

Twenty minutes and four more drinks later, Michael finally gave up trying to keep J.D. awake. He paid the bartender and thanked him before shaking J.D. to get him to stand up. J.D. let Michael lead him out the bar but took over once the crisp air of the night hit his face.

"Hey, how'd I get here?" J.D. looked around.

"I brought you outside. You were about to fall asleep on the bar. You were also drooling slightly. Didn't help much." Michael dug his hands into his pockets. J.D. attempted to laugh but nothing came out. "Maybe I should accompany you home."

"No, I think I can ride the bus by myself, thanks." J.D. stood by the bus stop and blinked his eyes furiously to stop from falling asleep standing up. Michael gently moved to J.D.'s side and smiled.

"I'm sure you can, but I don't want to risk you falling asleep on some business man's shoulder and drooling on his expensive coat."

_--fantasy-- J.D. is thrown out of the window of the moving bus by a very angry business man with a soaking wet jacket. --end fantasy-- _

"Whose shoulder do you suggest I fall asleep on then? An old woman with a hairy chin who smells of mothballs and tuna?" J.D. heard himself sarcastically ask as he saw the bus round the corner. Michael pulled out some change to pay for the ride.

"That was oddly. . . specific. But no, I'd suggest you fall asleep on my shoulder, actually."

The bus squealed to a stop and the doors pulled open with creaking age. The bus coughed smoke and looked as if it would fall apart if stepped on the wrong way. J.D. was too sleepy to pay close attention to what Michael had said as he climbed onto the bus.

(-------------------------------------------------)

The rest of the ride went uneventful and as predicted, J.D. fell asleep on Michael's shoulder. With what he could remember, he was very comfortable and wondered why he was so tired. Maybe he had been at work longer than he thought.

Twenty minutes later, J.D. felt himself being woken up and pulled up by his arm. It was a gentle tug, but still a forceful reminder that if he didn't move, the bus would leave with them still in it. It almost did, but Michael managed to stop the driver, an old man who had the appearance of driving with his eyes closed.

_I wonder if Turk and Carla are home. How do I explain showing up at the door practically falling asleep on Michael's shoulder. . . _

J.D.'s thoughts were interrupted by the presence of a green door he finally registered to be his own.

"You have a key, right?" Michael laughed as he watched J.D. fumble with his pockets.

"I think so. . . I hope." J.D. dug into the dark, lint filled recesses of his pants and coat pockets before feeling something familiar. He pulled out the key and held it up. "Ta-da! It's magic." J.D. joked.

_It's magic? What am I, five years old?_

"I like magic." Michael moved closer to J.D. and put a hand on his arm. J.D. wasn't sure what to do and didn't suspect what Michael did next. J.D. felt the lips on his and they were soft and airy. Both of them being slightly drunk and tired, the kiss wasn't perfect and rather sloppy.

J.D. heard someone clear their throat and he finally pulled away to see Carla standing in the open doorway, staring.

"J.D.?" she asked, non believing. Michael's face fell, but his eye widened as he began to stammer.

"Oh. . . I. . . I'm so sorry!" Michael looked like he was going to cry as he ran away down the stairs of the building. J.D. resisted the urge to follow and instead turned to Carla.

"What was that? You want to talk. . ." Carla began but J.D. just pushed past and headed for his room. Turk walked sleepily out of the room he was in with Carla.

"What's going on, baby?" Turk rubbed his eyes and slipped an arm around her waist. Carla stared at J.D.'s closed door and sighed.

"Nothing. Let's go back to bed."

(-----------------------------------------------------------------------------)

**I promise this will get a little more interesting. I want to get into the good stuff, but not too quickly so that's why this seems to be moving slowly. O.o **


	5. Chapter 5

**Oof. I got my wisdom teeth pulled last Friday and my jaw is still sore. Yep, all four of them. Ouch. It was funny though, the only thing I remember about the surgery is the doctor and nurse talking about sports and I remember them causing pain to my top jaw. . . O.o**

5

_Just walk in the building. Pretend nothing happened. Don't make a fool of yourself. . . like usual. . . _

J.D. strutted the best he could into the hospital, his backpack over his shoulder. He surveyed the area and sighed before making his way down the hall to the elevator.

"Hey. . . lover boy!" a familiar voice rang behind him and J.D. immediately tensed up before turning around to face the Janitor.

"How do you know. . ." for a moment, J.D. feared the worst.

"Last night, I saw you. Seemed to be in a rush to leave. Figured you had a date." The Janitor winked as if he knew exactly what was going on.

"I didn't have a date. I went. . . home." J.D. pondered why he felt the need to explain himself to this man.

"Sure you did. Sure you did." The Janitor nodded knowingly and continued on his way. J.D. watched him go before continuing on the way he was going as well.

_If I can just avoid him the rest of my life. . . yeah like that'll work. Where am I going to hide? Behind the vending machine? Ha! _

(----------------------------------------------------)

J.D. peeked out from behind the vending machine, but ducked back behind when he saw Carla and Michael approaching, obviously in deep conversation.

". . . so stupid of me. I shouldn't have done that. He probably hates me now." Michael was saying to Carla. Carla put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. He looked like he was enjoying it." Carla winked and J.D. bit his tongue so as not to say anything. "Want anything from the machine?"

"Oh, no. I'm not very hungry. But. . . thanks." The two nurses walked off at the same time Dr. Cox showed up. J.D. decided to stay where he was hidden and hoped Dr. Cox wouldn't notice. No such luck.

"Get out from behind the vending machine, Cinderella. We've got work to do." Dr. Cox started walking off offering no help to J.D. at all.

"Um. . . help? Somebody? Hello. . ."

(----------------------------------------------------)

"What've we got Dr. Cox?" J.D. asked as he rubbed his shin, not taking the time to notice the other person standing in the room.

"Glad you could make it from behind the vending machine. This is Sandra. . ." Dr. Cox talked but J.D. heard none of it and nodded his head at what he figured was the appropriate time. He was thinking about the night before again.

_What was going on? I can't believe Carla saw! What was Carla saying about how I enjoyed it. I didn't. --flashback-- okay, maybe I did a little. What does that make me then?_

". . . and I'm the biggest girl in the entire hospital. I haven't heard a single word Dr. Cox has said." Dr. Cox finished with a glint of. . . something in his eyes. J.D. nodded and finally realized what Dr. Cox said. "Yeah. . . one of the things you need to remember when you're a doctor is that you listen. Stop fantasizing about whatever scary thing goes on in your head and take a history."

J.D. watched Dr. Cox leave and sighed. Why did he always have to make a fool of himself in front of Dr. Cox?

"Is there anything you need me to do Doctor?" the question startled J.D. who thought he was the only person in the room besides the patient who was staring at the ceiling with boredom.

"Mi-Michael?" J.D. stammered, unsure of what else to say.

_So much for trying to avoid him. Come on beeper, beep! Come on, don't stand there like an idiot. Why do I never listen to myself! ARGG! _

"Hi, J.D.. I'd say something like 'fancy meeting you here', but I guess that line doesn't work when we're co-workers. It's kind of unavoidable, huh?" Michael tried his best to tease, but neither man laughed sincerely.

"I. . . um. . ." J.D. tried again.

"No, I should apologize. I took advantage of you and your state at the time. It was wrong of me. I know you like women." Michael looked as if he planned on to continue talking but J.D. finally stopped him.

"Maybe we should talk about this. . . later."

_Don't invite him over._

"Where?" Michael searched J.D.'s face but got nothing. "How about you come to my place when you're through with work tonight?"

"Okay, sure." J.D. shrugged like it was no biggie while inside, his guts were tangling and his stomach was turning.

_I could start a circus with the way all my insides are flipping and turning. --fantasy-- Michael is a ring leader with an obviously fake mustache. 'Come see the J.D. and his acrobatic insides! You've never seen a stomach turn in such a way before!' J.D. is lying on a table as all his friends watch. --end fantasy-- _

"Does your friend normally twitch like that?" Sandra asked Michael. Michael watched J.D. as he stared into space, still lost in the fantasy of his circus guts.

(-----------------------------------------------------------)

"So. . ." Elliot asked J.D. at lunch. ". . . what's going on with you and Michael, huh?" She leaned in as if it was all a conspiracy. J.D. almost stabbed himself with the plastic knife he was using to cut his chicken.

_Carla didn't. . . _

"What're you talking about?"

"The Janitor said he saw you two leaving together last night and Carla told me she opened the door to see you. . ."

_Oh no! She's got that look in her eyes! She knows! Quick, think of an excuse. Whatever you do, don't panic._

"Long day, too much to drink. Things happen, you know. It was an accident. Accidents happen, right? Ha, ha, ha, ha!" J.D. said faster than the speed of light to a very confused Elliot. She laid her fork down and darted her eyes around the room as if expecting someone to offer her a reason for J.D.'s strange behavior.

"What are you talking about?" Elliot laughed. "You're acting like I'm accusing you of kissing him or something." Elliot's smiled faded and her eyes began to sparkle. She leaned in again and whispered. "You didn't kiss did you?"

_I just couldn't keep my mouth shut, could I?_

"Of course. . . not. Much." J.D. couldn't believe he just said what he did. Elliot paused in mid bite, her fork hovering almost into her mouth. Her arm stayed like that a minute before she slowly lowered it and a smile crept upon her face.

"Was it good?"

"Elliot!"

"What? It's a fair question. . ." Elliot protested. J.D. shoveled some mashed potato into his mouth to avoid an answer, knowing full well he'd have to get there eventually.

"I wasn't really awake fully. . . we were both kind of drunk. . . it was. . . different."

"That's it? Just different? Oh, you're no fun." Elliot laughed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Maybe I'll ask him myself."

J.D. slammed his hand on the panic button and tried to think of something that would stop her.

"You don't even know where he is. HA!" J.D. crossed his arms in what he thought was victory. Elliot stood up, abandoning her tray.

"Sure I do. He's right there." Elliot pointed to the table where J.D, had sat with Michael the day before.

J.D. had no time to stop her.

(------------------------------------------------)

It was closing in on eleven at night when J.D. finally got away from work. He looked at the piece of paper with Michael's address scribbled neatly down. Directions were on the back in case they were needed, but J.D. couldn't make head or tail out of them. So he handed them to Carla.

"Do you understand this?" J.D. flapped the paper in her face. Carla snatched the flapping paper and looked it over.

"Oh, yeah. Whose apartment is this? You can walk to it from here." Carla gave the paper back to J.D. who still tried to figure it out. "Look, Bambi. Give me five minutes and I'll walk with you." Carla went to get her coat and tell Turk she'd be a little late coming home.

J.D. was already in the lobby when Carla showed up and the two of them headed off. J.D. found out the directions were easier to follow than he thought and the trip was going smoothly.

Until the dog.

Neither J.D. nor Carla knew exactly why or how, but somehow the dog came tearing up to J.D., there was a frenzy of barking and yelling and J.D. was left standing in the cold night air with no pants.

Carla doubled over with laughter and when she had her fill, she glanced around for J.D.'s pants but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Well, we're closer to Michael's apartment. I guess you'll have to go up."

"Why don't I go home first and get some pants, then come back."

"You think they'll let you on the bus like that? Or in a cab? Or walking down the street? Or. . ."

"Okay, okay. . . I'll see you later then." J.D. jumped up and down to warm his legs. Carla burst out laughing once more. "Hey! Eyes up here woman!" J.D. motioned to his face at another woman who was walking past.

(----------------------------------------------------------)

Then there he was, standing in his underwear at the door of Michael Williams. He knocked on the door and looked up and down the hallway to make sure nobody saw him. The knob turned and the door flew open.

J.D.'s heart did a backflip at what he saw.

So did Michael's.

(-----------------------------------------------------------------------------)

**What did J.D. see when the door opened? What is Michael's reaction going to be? What are they going to talk about. . . alone. . . at eleven at night. . . I'm know what you're thinking but don't get your hopes up. . . yet. O.o **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I'm back. . . again! After all that waiting (and kind reviews pressuring me to update) I have finally given my brain some time to think of something similar to a decent chapter. **

6

"J.D. . . you're not wearing pants." Stated Michael, as he looked about ready to burst into maniacal laughter.

_No shit._

"No kidding. I was thinking of going 'commando' but changed my mind and realized I was going to be late so. . ." J.D. noticed Michael wasn't falling for it and he stopped talking, silently clearing his throat. "A dog stole them. But don't worry! I fought him hard. Would've taken my arm otherwise."

"I see." Michael nodded. Suddenly, the door across the hall began to creak open. Michael grabbed J.D.'s collar and pulled him into his apartment, slamming the door closed behind him.

"What's going on. . ."

"Shhh. . . the woman across the hall is a busy-body and a nymphomaniac, I swear. She'd act like the dog expect she'd probably take off more than your pants."

"Oh." J.D. waited in silence for footsteps to pass and contemplated why his heart even attempted a backflip.

_He just opened the door and looked at me. I'm such an idiot._

Michael straightened his back and made his way to a closed door. J.D. walked over to an old, leather cracked couch and sat down, immediately regretting it. The couch was very cold.

"I'll get you some pants." Michael opened the door to what J.D. assumed was Michael's room. Five minutes later, Michael still hadn't come out and J.D. was genuinely worried, mostly for the sake of his legs.

"Are you still . . . alive in there?" J.D. called out and shifted uncomfortably on the couch, making an annoying squeaking sound.

"Yeah. Yeah." Came the muffled response. "I just got. . . ow! Stupid. I'm okay. . . ow, ow, ow. Dammit! Maybe I'm not okay. . ." Michael grew silent again. J.D. burst out laughing and after he calmed down, looked up at Michael who was holding a pair of jeans out to him.

"What happened?" J.D. gratefully accepted the torn pair of jeans and pulled them viciously on.

"I got a splinter." Michael eventually admitted, showing J.D. the long piece of wood snuggled into his palm.

"That's all? Do you have tweezers?"

"Well, duh. That's what I was using. Here." Michael placed them in J.D.'s hand steadily. J.D. cleared his throat but said nothing and pulled Michael's hand up close to his face.

"That's a pretty big piece of wood there." J.D. continued to inspect the hand, wondering how he was going to go about removing the long splinter. "It's also very deep in there. What'd you do stick it in there yours…" J.D. stopped talking and blushed.

_I really do have problems. What the heck is going on! Keep acting like this, J.D., and I'll end up throwing myself out the window. . . _

"J.D.?" Michael asked softly. J.D. looked up slowly, a faint shade of red still on his cheeks.

"Sorry. I realized what I was saying was a little. . ." J.D.'s cheeks flushed completely again.

"Were you looking at my hand?"

"What? Yeah, yeah. Why did you. . . oh."

"Then it's okay. Just get this out. It kind of hurts." Michael smiled and flinched as J.D. did not hesitate to dig the tweezers in. "Ow, ow, ow…" he moaned and J.D. looked up.

"Baby." He grinned.

"I am not!" Michael gasped and put a hand to his heart in an obvious over dramatization.

"Are too! I'm barely touching you and you're crying already!"

"I'm am most absolutely not crying!" Michael replied indignantly. J.D. burrowed the tweezers in and in less than a fifth of a second, the splinter was gone. "How. . . how did you do that?" Michael inspected his hand carefully.

"I'm a doctor, remember?"

"A damn good one, I might add." Michael smiled politely and suddenly felt the urge to kiss the other man's cheek. He knew, though, providing for the reaction of J.D. the last time they kissed. He ended up giving him a gentle pat on the hand.

_That's it? A pat on the hand? Am I losing my touch?_

"Do. . . do you remember why I came here in the first place?" J.D. finally sat up and looked at the clock, which now read 11:32 pm. He'd only been there for a half hour?

"I think we were going to talk about the horrible mistake I made last night." Michael embarrassingly stared down at his lap before going to search for a band aid to cover his wound.

"Oh. Yeah. I wouldn't say it was horrible. . ." J.D. shrugged and scratched an itch annoying his head. He made a face as he performed such a task, but Michael failed to notice.

"But it was a mistake, is that what you're saying?" Michael rejoined J.D. on the couch and stared intently into J.D.'s eyes.

_Bravo. Great._

"It was just a . . . surprise. That's it." J.D. knew he was getting nowhere fast and figured that now would be an excellent time to leave. He stood quickly and headed for the door.

"Wh-where are you going?" Michael was more than startled as he stood, not knowing how else to react.

"I realized everything I've said isn't helping. I'm just going to go home." J.D. pulled the door open. He didn't quite understand why he was doing this himself, but he knew that if he didn't get out, things would get incredibly awkward. Unfortunately, he had a hard time saying exactly what he just thought.

"But . . ." Michael blinked and J.D. swore that he saw his Michael's bottom lip quiver a little. All J.D. managed to let pass his lips was the word:

"Awkward-ness." Which wasn't even a real word in on itself, J.D. realized as he walked out, closing the door softly behind him.

And as he eventually made it outside and went to catch a bus, Michael sat back on his couch and cried. Mostly because he was mad at himself and also, he hoped he got his pants back at some point.

Because, the pants didn't technically belong to Michael in the first place. And the owner of them was coming back in two days.

And the so afore mentioned owner would kill Michael if he knew he had kissed another man while he was out.

Michael had just realized. . . he was screwed.

(-----------------------------------------------------------------------------)

**I'm sorry if that was really bad! I promise it will get better. Promise!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh, **Bello Autore**, do you promise not to eat me now:( But really, thanks everyone for the positive feedback…**

**And yes, **Q**, whoever you are, Michael does cry a lot. I'll try to fix that. And everyone who wants to see Michael and J.D. get together… well… you'll see! Just to make you happy, I'm as just as impatient as you guys to have them seriously kiss, but I'm not trying to rush anything. **

**(----------------------------------------------------------------)**

7

After J.D. had left, he had considered going to get a drink, perhaps get totally wasted, but he didn't think it would be right to show up at work the next day with a hangover, especially since he knew Michael would be there.

The next day, J.D. showed up late and with a hangover. He figured nobody would really notice, but he was sorely mistaken.

"Are you… hung-over?" Todd questioned when J.D. approached the nurse's station. He raised his hand. "Did somebody score last night? Huh? Huh?"

"I'm sure somebody did. But it wasn't me." J.D. moodily responded. Todd actually lowered his hand and frowned.

"Dude. Bad mood?"

"Yes." J.D. snapped. "So how about you scat and go break somebody else's hand."

_That's why I hate hangovers! I get so mean! _

Todd's shoulders slumped and he actually looked a little hurt. Carla walked up and saw J.D. looking ready to tear off a body part and Todd looking genuinely upset and shook her head to clear it.

"What's goin' on?" she leaned on the desk and looked from one man to the other.

"Nothin'." They both said at the same time. Todd shuffled off and Carla handed J.D. a chart.

"Perk up. You're not on for long today."

"Oh… whoopee." J.D. rolled his eyes and responded sarcastically before walking off.

(-------------------------------------)

Michael was there of course… and nobody else. J.D. looked at the chart again and back up. In his dazed state, he hadn't bothered looking over the rest of the chart, which was suspiciously empty.

_Uh, oh. I hope this isn't an intervention or something. _

"Don't worry, this isn't an intervention or anything." Michael sighed. J.D.'s eyes widened.

_Did he just… read my mind? _

"So… what are we doing here then?" J.D. threw the chart in the direction of the empty bed, but missed, and there was an uncomfortable pause while they waited for the clatter to die down.

"Well… I had to ask you something and thought you would rather do it in private. I figured you didn't want to talk to me, so I had Carla help."

"Ah. I see." Was all J.D. could think of to say at that moment.

"Do you have a hangover? You went out after being with me and got wasted?" Michael asked and J.D. was having a hard time trying to figure out if he was seriously upset or not. J.D. decided to be honest.

"Um… yes?" J.D. flinched slightly, waiting for the explosion. Or the Hoover Dam.

"Yeah. Me too." Michael laughed and J.D. dropped his shoulders and breathed. "So anyway… I need my pants back."

_:J.D. looks up as a giant shadow appears above his head. A 50 ton weight drops on him. Michael screams.:_

"Your… pants?" J.D. smiled innocently. He had wondered when he would have to bring up what happened to Michael's pants. Michael smiled back. J.D. decided it could wait.

"Yeah. My pants." Michael stepped closer. J.D. felt the urge to step away… so he did. Michael continued to step closer and J.D. continued to step away until he was backed against the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, it seems you don't have them. I was going to leave, but you're kind of in my way." Michael straightened his back.

_Whew. _

"Oops." J.D. stepped away and Michael stared at him, apparently amused.

"Did you think I was going to…"

"Yeah."

"Did you want me to?" Michael raised an eyebrow. J.D. raised his back. He wanted to know what happened to Michael. He wasn't very shy anymore. He was also giving himself a chance to think of an answer to that question. He didn't want to say no for fear of sounding rude, but he didn't want to say yes and have someone open the door on them.

That was as good as his luck seemed to get these days. He needed to think of something fast.

"People are going to start wondering where we… or at least I… am. I should really go." J.D. put his hand on the doorknob, ready to open it.

"But really J.D. … I do need those pants back."

"Why, if I may ask?" J.D. tried to sound calm. He couldn't tell if it was working.

"Because…" Michael wet his lips. "They're not mine."

_:J.D. sighs, barely recovered from the 50 ton weight. There is another shadow and J.D. looks up to see a 100 ton weight drop on his head. Michael crosses his arms and shakes his head. "Ow." Says J.D.: _

(--------------------------)

_Not his? Not his! Not his! NOT HIS? _

"Hey, Aeon Flux!" Dr. Cox snapped his fingers and whistled. J.D. jumped and pretended he was paying attention for the second time that week. "Look, I'm piss tired, so if you could at least do me the favor of doing a decent job at pretending to be paying attention, I would be ever so grateful."

"I'm…"

"Don't apologize. Just go." Dr. Cox motioned with his hand somewhere behind J.D.'s head.

"Go where… exactly?" J.D. tried to follow where Dr. Cox had been motioning, but all he saw was Elliot talking to Carla about something or other and then he saw Michael coming… "Bye!" Dr. Cox rolled his eyes. J.D. took baby steps in Michael's direction.

_It's okay. Just tell him what happened to the pants. Just tell him you fell down a flight of stairs and ripped a giant hole in the leg… and spilled beer on it… and dropped permanent ink on it… I'm screwed. _

"Hey, Doctor. Want me to check on a patient? Do a chart?" Michael asked carefully.

"I ruined the pants." J.D. blurted out and waited, again for the explosion. And explode he did.

"You WHAT!" he threw his hands in the air. Everyone turned in their direction, and J.D. looked around with doe eyes. He grabbed Michael's elbow and dragged him into an empty room and closed the door. "You… you… you were joking right?"

_I wish. And why are there so many empty rooms around? Hm._

"Not really." J.D. looked to the ground. They were both silent.

"If… if… he finds out… he'll get… get so… mad!" Michael was pacing back and forth, his face red. He could already feel the tears coming which made him madder. Why was he such a crybaby! He spent all of last night convincing himself to act less shy around everyone, especially J.D., and now here he was, ready to cry.

"Wanna ditch?" J.D. blurted out.

"What?"

"We can go back to my place and see if we can fix it."

"You think we can fix them?"

"Probably not."

"Let's go."

**(---------------------------------------------------------)**

**And yet another (short) chapter completed. Let me know what you think! And I promise they will get longer. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Aw… you guys are great. I'm ALIVE! For some reason, I managed to get writer's block on every. single. one. of my stories. But I'm back, and I hope you keep reading! **

8

J.D. and Michael stood outside the apartment. Before J.D. even reached out his hand to turn the knob, Michael grabbed it.

"Are they as bad as I'm assuming they are?"

"That depends… how bad are you assuming?"

"I'm assuming they're pretty bad."

"That's a good assumption." J.D. turned the doorknob with his other hand and let Michael go in ahead of him.

_I just like saying the word 'assumption' cause it's got the word 'ass' in it. Heh, heh. _

"Nice place." Michael nodded around until his eyes fell on the dog. "I don't even want to know." He waved his hands at it and went to look around somewhere else.

"But…" J.D. started.

"No!"

"But he's…"

"NO!" Michael laughed and turned back in J.D.'s direction. "I don't want to know. Can we find the pants please?"

"Sure." J.D. wandered into his own room and grabbed the damaged pants… but stopped and sat on his bed. He couldn't help but think that everything he was doing was a mistake. But not for long when he heard Michael yelp. Rushing out with the ruined pants, he saw Michael practically standing on the chair.

"What's the matter?" J.D. threw the pants on the couch before looking around suspiciously.

"I had to use your bathroom and there was giant spider in the bathtub!" he wailed. J.D. looked to the bathroom before turning back to Michael and raising an eyebrow.

_I've seen this in a movie somewhere… what movie was it! Damn!_

"Oh please…" J.D. scoffed as best he could. "… it can't be that big."

(-----------------)

J.D. stood on the same chair as Michael and looked wildly around.

"Do you think it saw me? Is it going to come out here?"

"I don't know… maybe it didn't see you."

"I guess we'll just let it be, then. Maybe it'll leave us alone."

"But J.D. …"

"What?"

"I really have to go to the bathroom."

_When a good doctor, as myself, is put in such a situation, it's best to use our bravery to our best use. _

(------------------)

"Pee faster!" J.D. yelled as he held a broom over the tub, his back to Michael as he stood in front of the toilet.

"I can't with you yelling at me like that!" the stream finally stopped and J.D. heard him pulling up his scrub pants. "Maybe if you whack it a couple times, you'll kill it." Michael inched to the door.

"Good idea." J.D. slammed the broom into the tub a few times before lifting it up to look inside. He made a face and Michael walked over to see what happened.

"Ew." They both said at the same time.

Walking out, J.D. left the broom in the tub and locked the door behind them, just to be sure. Striding over to the couch, he picked up the folded pants and frowned before facing Michael.

"I'm almost afraid to look." Michael swallowed hard and reached out to touch them, but did not take them in his hands.

"How about this? On the count of three I'll open the pants, okay?" J.D. suggested but was only met with Michael attempting to hold in laughter. He couldn't hold it much longer and burst into a fit of giggles. J.D. was very confused and he wrinkled his nose slightly, waiting for an explanation.

"What… what you said… just…" Michael noticed the perplexed face of J.D. and straightened, clearing his throat. "Nevermind. Go ahead, count away."

"Alright. One. Two." J.D. paused and swallowed. "Three." He said meekly, shaking the pants out to full length. J.D. opened his eyes only to see Michael's were shut. "Come on, Michael. Look at it." J.D. watched Michael open one eye and then the other. His jaw dropped and a hand went to his face.

"What have you done?" he whispered carefully.

"I'm sorry." Was all J.D. could offer, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"Yeah, well not much either of us can do now, right?" Michael tried to laugh, but nothing came out but a shuddered sigh. He silently begged himself not to cry, not in front of J.D., not again…

_Come on J.D.! Think, think! There's got to be something you can do!_

"We can buy new ones!" J.D. tossed the jeans on the couch and held his arms out in a 'ta-da!' sort of pose. Michael instead watched the jeans fall and didn't notice the J.D.'s 'aren't you proud of me face?'. Finally looking up, he couldn't help but smile.

"You try too hard." Michael laughed as J.D.'s shoulder's sagged and he frowned slowly, giving the appearance of deflating like an animal shaped balloon.

_Do I? I haven't notice. Damn! I'll have to work on that. Then I'd have to…_

His thoughts were interrupted by Michael grabbing his arm calmly, a smile of amusement dancing around his eyes. "And you think too much."

"And… and… and you're a crybaby!" J.D. retorted like a two-year old. Michael shook his head.

"I know, it's horrible. And to think, when I was a baby, I didn't cry one bit."

"Well… my mom told me she had to stuff cotton balls in my mouth to shut me up. Heh, heh, heh." He shrugged at Michael's look of concern. "She might have been exaggerating a little. I can't remember."

"You were saying… buy new ones? Where?"

"I dunno. A clothing store?"

"Ha ha." Michael headed to the door, grabbing his and J.D.'s coat. "We'd better get going if we want to find these jeans. Maybe we should take the… ruined… ones to… you know… compare."

_Oh boy! Shopping!_

(---------------------------------)

"Excuse me?" Michael cautiously approached a very blonde woman standing behind a long grey counter in the clothing store. She looked up from filing her nails and raised her pencil eyebrows. She jutted out her lower jaw and frowned.

"What?"

"Oh… um… I was wondering if you had these specific type of jeans." Michael was careful only to show her the label, avoiding the embarrassing stains and tears. The blonde only raised one eyebrow and stared down, her nose wrinkling. She snapped her gum.

"Sure." She paused and sighed, finally pointing a pink painted fake nail to the back of the store. "They're over there."

"Thanks." Michael felt the urge to jump behind the counter and slap her. Instead, he headed back towards J.D. "Well… that was vague. All I know… is they're back there." And he pointed in the same direction the Barbie wannabe had pointed. The two traipsed down the reflective tiles to the back of the store, a messy assortment of brand name jeans cluttering the shelves.

"This is going to take awhile." J.D. pouted and quickly scanning the piles, wishing he had x-ray vision like Superman. J.D. looked up from the piles when he heard Michael laugh. "What? Find something?"

"I just… you're cute when you pout. Cuter, anyway." Michael managed to blush. J.D. couldn't help but blush in return, which wasn't something he did very often. But then again, it wasn't very often that anyone called him cute and meant it. "But yeah…" Michael looked excited and shoved a pair of jeans in J.D.'s face. "I think we may have found our match!"

_Hallelujah, life loves me! _

(----------------------------------)

Back at J.D.'s place the two men stared at the separate pairs of jeans in disappointment. As it turned out, in their excitement and rush, neither of them had realized that the new pair of jeans they found was, in fact, a size too small.

"Can't you say they shrunk in the wash?" J.D. suggested with a smile, which disappeared when Michael looked up glaring.

"He told me not to wash them. If he finds out I did he'll think something's going on."

"He sounds a little…" J.D. tried to think of a way to finish the sentence without offending the trembling man standing next to him.

"Jealous? Controlling?" Michael offered.

"Sure."

They were about to, well, J.D. wasn't exactly sure what they were exactly about to do, but it was interrupted by the phone ringing so loud it almost fell off the table. Choosing to ignore it, J.D. returned his attention to the pants and sighed, his moment ruined. He knew the phone call would be someone from work, probably Carla or, even worse, Dr. Cox himself, and he didn't have an explanation to use as a cover-up for the real reason for ditching. His musings were interrupted once again by the ringing of a cell phone he didn't even know Michael had.

"Sorry." Michael whispered as if the person on the other line could hear him. Flipping the phone open he physically cringed and J.D. guessed that it must be his anonymous boyfriend. "Good… to hear you too." Michael politely smiled and paused to listen. "How many more days! Four? But you said…" he sighed heavily and paused once again. "Alright, fine. No, really, I'm fine. I'm at work. No, work! Prove it? Are you kidding. Fine, here's one of the doctors." And Michael handed to phone to J.D.

_I've never been good at any type of phone talking. When Turk always made pranks calls I always gave it away by yelling some random comment and laughing nervously._

"What do I do?" J.D. took the phone and whispered. Michael just shrugged. Putting the phone up to his ear at last, he cleared his throat slowly. "Zombies… eat your brains for afternoon tea! Heh, heh, heh…" J.D. did exactly what he didn't want to do and immediately felt the phone ripped from his hand.

"No, sorry…" Michael looked like he was barely able to contain his laughter. "… one of our psyche patients got a hold of it, they're pretty sneaky. Here's the real doctor." Michael held the phone out to J.D. again and gave a "be serious this time" look. Snatching the phone, J.D. put on his best macho face and cleared his throat.

"This is Dr. Acula speaking what can I do for you?" J.D. listened a moment and made a cross face. "It is not a stupid name! My mother loved me very much!" J.D. quickly hung up and crossed his arms. "Well, I'm definitely not inviting him to my movie premier."

"You just hung up. On my boyfriend." Michael appeared stunned.

"Was that a… bad thing?" J.D. let his arms get a little limp hoping he hadn't made his new "friend" upset.

"Well, let's just say you're a very brave soul." Michael paused to take a look at the jeans laying on the counter. "Let's get to work."

"Right-o."

_Maybe everything was going to work out after all. _

"Do you have any bleach?" Michael asked after attempting to fray the edge of one of the pockets.

"No."

"Damn. That's going to be a problem."

_I really have to learn how to keep my big mind closed. _

**(--------------------------)**

**Sorry that was short. Promise the next one will be longer and arrive much sooner! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Apparently I lied on the "arrive much sooner" bit. Did I ever mention how bad I was at keeping my promises? **

9

"Hey, Michael?"

"Yes, J.D.?"

"Why're you sitting on my lap?"

"I fell?"

"Oh. Okay." J.D. stayed put in his chair, not once thinking of pushing the other man off. Not even when Dr. Cox stumbled past, doing a fast double take and walking backwards. After a second or two curious staring, he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm going to pretend I'm not seeing this and am going to hand you this chart and walk away." And Dr. Cox did just that, though he threw the chart in J.D.'s general direction instead, and it landed in a mess in the floor. The two men looked down at it and Michael finally got off to let J.D. pick it up.

"Do you want me to come with?" he offered bending down to retrieve a paper J.D. missed.

_Yes! Yes! YES!_

"Nah. I got it." J.D. shrugged and hopped around the other side of the counter, looking left and right as if crossing a busy street. With a small skip, he headed to the left toward whatever patient he had to take care of. Michael sighed and jumped when there was a voice behind him.

"You really like him, huh?"

"How did… what?" Michael faced the Janitor, who was leaning on his mop, staring off in the distance, his head shaking slightly. He looked down at the confused nurse ominously, his brow furrowing.

"Oh, I know everything." He picked the mop up and, with one quick swivel, turned around. He only turned back to whisper: "everything."

"I don't… understand him." Michael said to no one in particular.

"Oh, honey, no one understands him." Laverne responded as she passed by.

(----------------------------------)

_I'm exhausted. I can hardly walk. All I need is to go home, sleep and… ooo… cookies!_

J.D.'s eyes brightened when he pushed the lounge door open to reveal a tin of seemingly lonely cookies on one of the tables. Taking a cautious look around to make sure that no one was going to jump out and tackle him for taking a cookie for the road, he reached out, as cat-like as possible and was almost touching it when…

"What're you doing?" came a laugh from the couch and Michael's head popped up. J.D. jumped backwards, screaming slightly. Michael laughed again and pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"I was going to… uh… make sure they were clean?"

"Is that so? I see drooling. They do look pretty good don't they? I don't know whose they are though. I took one anyway. Taste as good as they look."

"Have you had coffee?" J.D. abandoned the cookie tin, but not before tucking one into his pocket. He joined the nurse on the couch and sighed.

"Too much."

"I haven't had enough." J.D. admitted, yawning and letting his head fall on Michael's shoulder.

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_I'm up! I'm up! Wait. Up? I fell asleep! No, no, no, no, no…_

J.D. opened one eye and then the other, looking up into the smiling face of Michael, his soft blue eyes appearing almost softer.

"Calm down. We were talking about coffee and when I asked you something, you didn't answer. I looked down and you were asleep. You're pretty cute when you sleep. I think you might have drooled on me a little, though."

"Heh. Sorry." J.D. reluctantly sat up and inspected Michael's shoulder. "Maybe if your shoulder wasn't so comfortable, I wouldn't have drooled. How long was I asleep?"

"Only a few minutes. I couldn't bear to…" he was interrupted by a ring and J.D. watched as Michael pulled out his cellphone.

_Isn't it against the rules to have a cellphone on in the hospital? Why was that again::J.D.'s patient's heart just gave out. He pulls out the heart charger. "Charging to 50". At the same time, Michael's cellphone rings and he pulls it out to answer it. The charger explodes.: Oh._

"…know you miss me, but do you really have to call every hour? Four days… three now, sorry. Of course I'm at work. Where else would I be? I am not going to prove it to you again, don't you trust me? Whatever. Fine, fine. Okay! I said… bye." Michael closed his phone before J.D. had a chance to warn him about exploding machines.

"What're you going to do when he comes back?"

"Run off to the circus?" Michael stood, only half joking. "I really don't know. I do know I don't love him anymore."

"So, who do you love?" J.D. walked up behind Michael to get a cup. Michael turned his head to face J.D.'s and gave him a quick kiss, leaving the young doctor frozen for a moment.

"I wonder."

_Way to go J.D… you can cross "cheating" off your list of "Things I Hope I Never Do Before I Die"._

(----------------------------------)

"…so I walked up to her and said…"

"J.D.!" Turk looked relieved to see J.D. begin to walk wearily by and pause at his name.

"No, that's not what I… hey, man!" Todd smiled, obviously not noticing how tired J.D. seemed to be. "We're going for a drink later, wanna come?"

"Uh…" J.D. saw, out of the corner of his eye, Turk begging him not to leave him with Todd, alone, but he was so tired, he wasn't entirely sure he could make it home safely. "…no. I'll pass."

"That's cool. That's cool." Todd nodded, putting an arm around Turk's shoulder. "Looks like it's just you and me, buddy."

"Great." Was the reaction, sarcasm noticeable to everyone but Todd. Turk threw a "you traitor" glare at J.D. before being directed towards the lounge.

_He's so going to get me back later on for that, I know it. But first, how to get home without getting myself into an accident…_

"I'll give you a lift."

_AAAAAHHHHHH!_

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Oh, quiet down. I mean it. I will." The Janitor finished putting on his coat, amused by J.D.'s reaction.

"You have a… nevermind."

"What? You think I'm too poor to own a car? Geez… even though you insulted me, I'll give you a ride anyway."

"You're not going to make me pass out and dump me somewhere? Or make me ride on the roof? Or with the engine? Or hanging out a window?" J.D. was wary, even if it was a tempting offer.

"Nah. I'm too tired. Just a normal car ride."

_Yeah, by who's definition of normal?_

"Mine." The Janitor cocked an eyebrow. J.D.'s eyes widened and put his hands over his ears.

"How… how did you do that?"

"I know everything. That and any amateur would've said that. Easy stuff."

"I hate you."

"I know." The Janitor headed for the elevator and turned back to see if J.D. was following. "You coming?"

J.D. pouted but went along. As long as he promised…

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"So, what's up with you and that nurse?"

"Which nurse?" J.D. took his gaze from out the car window to the Janitor.

"Aw, you know. Michael."

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Why?"

"Well, there's the fact he was sitting on your lap this morning."

"Friends do that." J.D. replied indignantly. "I think." He added as an afterthought. "You're just messing with me. You don't know anything."

"I bet you I know a lot more than you think."

"What do you do, go around stalking me!"

"Pretty much."

"Oh. Why?"

"Cause I love you."

"WHAT!"

"I'm kidding." The Janitor stepped on the brake at a stoplight and J.D. could see the smirk in the red.

"I still hate you."

"I know."

Fifteen minutes later, the Janitor pulled up in front of J.D.'s apartment and turned off the engine. There was a longer silence than necessary, and J.D. didn't understand why he didn't just open the car door and leave.

"I really do love you."

"Would you shut up!" J.D. groaned, finally getting out, slamming the car door shut. The Janitor watched J.D. for a minute before driving away.

"Such an easy target."

(----------------------------------)

Knock. Knock.

"Coming!" Michael called out and threw down the dishtowel. Making his way across his creaky floor, he unlocked the door and pulled it open, his relaxed expression changing to fear. "Jason?"

"Surprise."

**(----------------------------------)**

**Right-o. I'll try my hardest to be quicker with the next chapter. Oh, and I didn't see anywhere before this chapter where I mentioned Michael's boyfriend's name, but if there is, let me know and I'll fix it. **


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm back!!**

10

_Usually, when a friend who's never late shows up late to work, you know there's a problem. _

"Hey, hon. There you are!" Carla greeted Michael and haphazardly tossed him a chart before walking briskly away to some other patient.

_Obviously, I was the only one who knew this rule. _

"You're late." J.D. pointed out, following Michael down the hallway.

"So? Who are you, my mom now?" Michael snarled and J.D. paused, startled by this change in normal attitude. Michael took a few steps before stopping and sighing. Turning back around, he sighed again. "He came back. Last night."

"Who came back?"

Michael walked up to J.D. and swallowed before softly speaking.

"My boyfriend."

"Ah… oh." J.D. went completely serious, finally lowering his voice. "Everything… everything okay?"

"He was too tired last night for anything and he just went to bed. But…"

"But what?"

"Nothing." Michael shrugged and turned back around, changing the subject by looking at the chart. "Want to come?"

"Sure."

_There's nothing more difficult than knowing that someone needs your help… and not knowing how you can. _

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"Turk?"

"What's up J.D.?"

"What would you do if someone you cared about needed your help but you didn't know how to help them?" J.D. leaned on the nurse's counter and posed his question to his best friend.

"I don't know. Just trust your instincts." Turk shrugged and checked over his shoulder and saw Carla nodding in approval before walking off. Making sure she was gone, Turk continued talking. "Whew. Truth, I don't have any idea what the hell you should do. I'm trying to convince Carla that I'm wise."

"Why?"

"I forgot. But now, she thinks I am and is all happy and crap."

"Oh." J.D. saw Michael walk by and abandoned his friend to catch up to him. "Michael!"

Slowing down, but not stopping, he waited for J.D. to be right next to him before speeding up again.

"What?"

"Why're you walking so fast?"

"I'm trying to figure out what to do. I just… I've been walking in circles for god knows how long."

_Everyone has their way of coping with being scared. Whether it's hiding in a closet, lying to someone you love, picking on someone who cares about you, or walking in circles, certain ways work for different people. _

"I'd offer for you to stay with me, but there wouldn't be any room with Turk and Carla there too."

"And if I didn't come home, Jason would freak." Michael unhappily sighed and finally stopped, putting his face in his hands.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You could…" Michael began but stopped himself and shook his head. "Nevermind. I don't need you arrested for man-slaughter."

"You know if you need anything…" J.D. was still stuck with that question, not sure of what else he could offer that didn't involve what Michael nearly suggested. Putting a hand on Michael's shoulder, he was caught off guard when Michael pulled him into a hug instead.

"Thank you, J.D."

_Maybe, sometimes, you don't need to say anything much to help a lot. _

(----------------------------------)

_A lot of my afternoon, I was distracted, still pondering what I could do to help out Michael. _

"Hey, Minnie!" Dr. Cox snapped his fingers in J.D.'s face, waking him from his daydream. "I know your sooo excited about your big mall trip with your new girlfriend, but we've got patient's dying here and now. Don't screw up too much." And just like that, he left the room, leaving J.D. standing next to the bed of a youngish, muscular man who looked positively green.

"Are you my doctor?" The man asked with a gruff voice, clearing his throat and swallowing, apparently to stop himself from throwing up.

"Uh… yes. I'm Doctor Dorian. And you are…" J.D. searched the chart for a name, but the patient answered for him.

"Jason McMillan."

"Oh."

_Jason… Jason… why does that name sound familiar? Where have I heard that name before today? Wait! Wasn't Jason the name of Michael's…_

"Everything… okay?" Jason interrupted.

"What are you here for?" J.D. questioned the man in the bed.

"I was out and I felt dizzy. I collapsed and they brought me here. I don't feel too good."

"You probably just have the flu." J.D. put down his chart. "But we'll run some tests just to be safe." Turning around, J.D. silently begged that this Jason didn't mention the name Michael. He made it almost to the door safely when Jason finally spoke up.

"A nurse named Michael doesn't work here, does he?"

"I… um… don't know. Never heard of him. I'll ask around." J.D. commented nervously, refusing to look Jason in the face, and he walked out. Stepping right past Dr. Cox and ignoring him, even when Dr. Cox called him 'Florence'. Walking past everyone who called his name out, J.D. went looking for Michael.

_He's screwed. What am I talking about?! We're both screwed. If Jason finds out I've been messing with his boyfriend… ::J.D. is standing in a hospital room. Jason has found out what J.D. and Michael had done. 'You WHAT!' he screams and begins to grow into the Incredible Hulk.:: I have to find Michael! _

(----------------------------------)

_Why is it whenever you desperately need to find someone you never can?_

"Michael!" J.D. yelled for the millionth time that day and practically knocked Dr. Kelso over as he ran.

"What's wrong?" Michael looked genuinely worried and stopped in his tracks.

"It's Jason… he's…"

"Here." Michael finished for J.D. and smiled at the confused look on his face. "Jason always forgets where I work at and if he does remember, he thinks it's at a hospital in another town. As long as I steer clear of his room and warn people, it'll be fine."

"But…"

"Did you tell him?" Nothing but panic spread across Michael's face.

"No. I just told him I never heard of you before."

"Good." Michael looked relieved and in control for a minute until his smile dropped and he let out a shuddered sigh. Pushing J.D. into an empty room, he closed the door behind him and turned the light on.

"What… what…"

"I'm scared, J.D."

For once, J.D. was stunned.

_How do you respond to someone who's not a patient who tells you that? Usually you can just comfort the patient and tell them everything will be fine and they'll get better. But Michael's not sick. _

"Um. I… well…" J.D. tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged his shoulders, eyes darting to the floor.

"What?" Michael looked like he was getting angry, but J.D. couldn't figure out why. Looking back up at Michael he shrugged again.

"I don't… know."

"You don't know what?"

"What to say."

"Thanks." Michael replied sarcastically and turned towards the closed door. "I knew I could count on you in my time of need." He swung open the door and continued talking. "I really thought you would be able to help out. I might as well go see Jason now and get it over with. Thanks again." Michael strode off to the right, in the direction of Jason's room.

J.D. stayed where he was, hands still in his pockets. The only difference was the door was open and practically everyone who overheard what Michael said was staring right at J.D.

_Nothing is worse than knowing you had every opportunity to help out… and totally blew it. _

(----------------------------------)

_Luckily, Michael didn't know Jason's room number and no one was telling him. So I did the only thing I could think of to do. _

"Sign here." Said the man with a hat on that was too tight. He and his partner wheeled Jason out the hospital and loaded him onto an ambulance.

"What was that all about, Bambi?" Carla stepped up behind J.D..

"I got Jason transferred to County."

"Good idea. Want me to go find Michael?" she offered.

"Nah. I'll find him."

Eventually, J.D. found Michael angrily exiting the doctor's lounge, hands clenched in fists at his sides.

"Oh. It's you." He paused. "Why won't anyone tell me what room Jason's in?"

"He's not here."

"Not here as in not on this floor or… what?"

"He's not in the hospital. I had him transferred to County." J.D. smiled at Michael and watched his fists slowly unclench.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Wow. Look, I'm sorry I got mad at you. I just wasn't expecting him to come back so soon and now he's sick which means when he comes home he'll make me miss work to take care of him."

"What did you mean when you said you were just going go see Jason and get 'it' over with?" J.D. didn't mean to be nosy, but he was normally a curious type.

"I was going to tell him that I didn't love him anymore."

"Really? You fell in love with someone else?"

"You know, sometimes, J.D., you can be so clueless."

_Oh._

"Oh."

(----------------------------------)

**I know this wasn't long and wasn't much of an answer to the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter nine, but I wanted to give you guys something to tide you over for a little… **


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